Busy day . . . . .

. . . got lots done.  UPS’d 3 packages; had doctor’s appointment – ok and got flu shot; got note cards printed; got To/From tags made (that’s the cardinal in the corner); got gas; got mailing labels; printed off mailing labels for Christmas cards.  The biggest pain was printing the Avery labels.  For some reason their label template didn’t work correctly.  Might be a Microsoft Word problem, but it took some gymnastics to get the labels printed. ■   Oh, and gift wrapping – not for me.  I’m terrible at it.  Seriously.  ■  Lots more to do tomorrow.

Pen & Ink–still drawing . . .

Have a few orders this year – very few unfortunately.  My pen & ink website has fallen in popularity in Google searches.  Most likely due in a large part to making almost no changes to it in the past couple/few years.  Time to get hoppin’ on that.  ■  The drawing on the left is pretty well close to done.  Still a few hours to go.  ■  I’ve got some Christmas presents to give this year that I hope are good.  After Christmas I’ll post pictures of them.  ■  Lots of stuff to get done this week.  ■  Back to drawing . . . . ..

Yeah, it’s cold . . . . . .

. . . and it’s only November 17th!  We’re having temps like we’d have in late January and early February.  I’t cooooollllllddddd.  (That didn’t make it past spell check.)  ■  Rescheduled my diabetes doctor appointment today.  Now it’s scheduled for December 30th.  Scary.  ■  Did a Holiday Market at our local nursing home this past Saturday.  Talked to a lot of people.  Hopefully I’ll get some drawings out of it.  ■  Got some pics today from Libby and Jay with the grandchildren out in the snow.  They had more snow (probably 3/4 of an inch) than we did.  ■  It’s late, I’m cold, and it’s time for bed (TFB).  ‘Night.  ■

New gutters–done…..

New gutters were put on today.  Everything looks good.  ■  And thanks to my neighbor Jac, I spray painted the lights that flank the garage and he put them back up for me.  Thanks, Jac.  ■  Trying to see if the Jawbone up3 is out yet.  It’s a device that can measure your heart rate, track your sleep, and play your favorite tunes.  Just kidding about the tunes.  I’ll check out the other wrist bands from other companies to see what their products offer.  ■  The weather has turned cold.  Had a few snowflakes tonight while I was grilling.  ■  TFB.  ‘Night.

Coming along . .. . … .

They say they’ll be done today.  Hard to believe as it seems that there’s so much to go.  ■

Afib and siding . . . .

Had an appointment with my cardiologist on Thursday.  Everything was normal until he took my pulse.  He then said “we’re going to do an EKG.”  Nurse came in; hooked me up to the EKG machine; ran the test; and said you’re in Afib.  This is the 3rd time I’ve been in Afib.  The first two were resolved with electro-cardioversion.  ▄  Electrical cardioversion is a procedure in which an electric current is used to reset the heart's rhythm back to its regular pattern (normal sinus rhythm). The low-voltage electric current enters the body through metal paddles or patches applied to the chest wall. ▄  I got a burn from the last one I had done.  They had to hit me twice to turn the ol’ engine over.  I’ve got an appointment in a few weeks to see him again and decide what should, or shouldn’t be done.  ■ ■  Our house is getting new siding.  They’ve taken the old siding off, insulated it, wrapped it and are in the process of install the new siding.  It should look nice.  ■  Cribbage tonight.  We’re hosting it.  ■

Furnace fixed . . . . .

Got the furnace fixed.  It was a minor problem, but still expensive $98 just to come out and then the repair on top of that.  At least we’ve got heat downstairs again.  Had it up to 66º degrees and it felt hot.  The temps in the living room with the colder weather have been hovering between 59º and 64º – mostly around 62º.  ■  Worked on and finished our Christmas card for 2014.  Now I’ve got to go and get them printed – and then written, addressed and sent.  ■  TFB.  ‘Night.  ■

First snow–Oct 31, 2014–Halloween

Yup, the first snow for this winter.  On Halloween.  Burrrrr.  ■  I’m hoping that this doesn’t portend another cold, snowy winter.  I’m not sure I can take another one of those.  ■  Holly’s been at work at Follett for the past 4 weeks.  She likes it.  ■  Aaron has his first Naval Reserve meeting this weekend and then he starts work at Follett too.  ■  Our downstairs furnace has quit working.  I’ve called our furnace guy, but haven’t received a call back yet.  The downstairs is somewhat cool, but not unbearable.  The upstairs is fine, but I have to get the downstairs furnace fixed.  ■  ‘Bout time for bed.  ‘Night.  ■

Painted door . . . . .

Finally – a picture of our painted front door.  I still have to put the house numbers on.  Not on the door, but to probably the right side of the door.  ■  Saw Cherie and Jim this afternoon.  They’re on their way down to Florida for the winter.  I don’t envy them the drive, but I do the weather.  They’re saying that this winter could be like the last one.  I hope not.  ■  Time for bed.  ‘Night.  ■

When I’m 64 . . . .

Yup, I’m at the age of The Beatle’s song “When I’m 64.”  Don’t feel any older.  Don’t feel any younger either.  ■  Went to a benefit for a friend diagnosed with brain cancer. A lot of good music and the burgers were good.  ■  Spent a quiet late afternoon and evening on our patio quietly playing some lap steel and smoking some pork.  ■  Today – got some grass to cut and a can crusher to put up.  It’s 75° out.  It’s going to be a nice day.  ■

New carpet

Got some new carpeting installed on the stairs and in two of our bedrooms.  The other two bedrooms have wood floors as does the upstairs hallway.  ■  Chili Fest XXI coming up in a couple of weeks.  ■ 

Floor is done . . . . .

  A few days of work, but the floor and powder room are now done.  Not great pictures, but it’ll give you an idea.  Still a couple of minor items to take care of, but it sure looks good.  ■  I’ll post some more pics tomorrow.  ■  Now it’s time for bed.  ■

New front door . . . . .

Installed a new front door this weekend.  Thought it was going to be as easy as taking the old one out and sliding the new one in.  Not quite as easy as that, but it got done – and a huge thanks to my neighbor Jac and another huge one to my neighbor Steve.  Couldn’t get by without them.  ■  Now we’re looking at painting the door to make it pop.  ■  Having some more work done on the house beginning tomorrow with a laminate floor laid and powder room remodeled.  ■  I’ll try and remember to post some progress photos here over the next few days.   ■  TFB.  Night.

Music coming . . . . .

Purchased a video camera to record my guitar and dobro playing.  Since I don’t read music as of yet, the only way I can easily see how I’ve played a piece is to video record it and play it back – so I can see what I’ve done.  Probably not the best way to perform that function, but it’s all I have right now.  ■  Cleaning up around the house.  Getting ready for a party on Sunday as well as a fight on Saturday night.  ■  I’m up way too late.  Already  been to bed, but couldn’t sleep.  Time for me to try again.  ‘night. ■

Map of my drawings . . . . .

Above is a map of my drawings – just the first 100 as the mapping product limits me to 100 items.  I want to see if I can break it down by year.  ■  Aaron arrived home a few days ago.  Left San Diego.  I wonder if he’ll miss it.  ■ 

Much to do . . .

Yup, much to do to get the house ready to sell.  A little at a time.  Dogs are fine – still sleep with us.  Zoe on the floor at my side of the bed and Abby usually between us, or at Holly’s feet – (much better for me!)  ■  Holly’s going up to Green Bay next week to help settle her mother’s house.  That leaves me with the dogs.  A fair trade, I guess.  ■

Home updating/renovation . . .

We’re starting to “renovate”, or update our home in getting it ready to sell – at some point.  Don’t know  when yet, but probably in the next year, or so.  Above is the starting list of things we have to tackle – painting, light fixtures, new front hallway floor, probably new front door, etc. ■  Band practice tomorrow. ■  Cleaning my office today.  Ugh.  ■

Snow–in April!

Yup, snow in April.  And not just a dusting.  We had at least an inch, or more.  It’s the 16th (this happened on Monday the 14th) – and we still have some in the crooks of the trees.  This could make me move south.  ■  Holly made shrimp etouffee tonight.  Delicious.  I’m up here posting, but may go back down for some more.  ■  Started cleaning out the basement today.  Stuff to throw away and stuff for a garage sale.  And organizing the basement for band practice.  Yes, putting a band back together.  Lots of work, but lots of fun.  ■  Too early for bed, but yet it’s time for bed – TFB.  ■  ‘night.

Spring is here–I believe. . . . .

All of the snow is gone except for some shrinking piles in parking lots.  Those get smaller every day.  ■  The hard drive on my pc started to fail.  The monitor also looked to be failing, but that may have had something to do with the hard drive – doesn’t seem likely, but who knows.  I backed my stuff up to an external hard drive and bought a new pc.  Not an expense that I was looking for.  Got the new pc and it has Windows 8 on it.  Yuk.  I’ve got it looking and acting more like Windows 7 now.  Still in the process of re downloading programs that I had on the old pc.  Still a bit to go before I’m totally back in business.  ■  Going to a band practice tonight.  Don’t know if it’ll turn into anything, but it should be fun.  ■ 

Abby makes it into Google maps!

Yup, that’s Abby in the picture.  She’s lying in the grass surveying her territory; making sure everything is good in the neighborhood. ■   We got sleet and rain today.  Yuk.  Neither of us left the house.  Just too yucky outside.  ■  The temps for the last couple of days have been in the high 30s and 40s.  On Sunday it’s forecasted to take a dip again.  Still above 0, but below 15 degrees.  This has been one heck of a winter.  ■  Just purchased a web design package to help me with redesigning my pen & ink website.  Lots to learn.  ■  TFB

Had warm beach weather . . .

. . . but now we’re back home in the cold and snow.  It snowed a few inches yesterday (Monday), but today it’s warmer and we’re actually getting some melting.  ■  Had a good short vacation visiting Holly’s sister in Florida.  Was very relaxing.  Slept late, ate well, and had a good time.  ■  I’ve got to get rid of a bunch of music stuff.  Amps, guitars, etc.  It’s going to be hard to do.  ■  Steak on the grill tonight.  ■

Are we ever going to get . . .

. . . Out of this cold spell?  It’s supposed to get down to –15 in the next couple of days.  Brrrr.  And we keep getting snow.  Stop it, already!  ■